story: My doorbell rings. On the step, I find the elderly Chinese lady, small and slight, holding the hand of a little boy. In her other hand, she holds a paper carrier bag. 
  
  I know this lady. It is not her first visit. She is the boy's grandmother, and her daughter bought the house next door last October. 
  
  Her daughter, Nicole, speaks fluent English. But she is now in Shanghai, and her parents are here with the little boy. Nicole has obviously told her mother that I am having heart surgery soon, so her mother has decided I need more nutrients. 
  
  I know what is inside the bag--a thermos with hot soup and a stainless-steel container with rice, vegetables and either chicken, meat or shrimp, sometimes with a kind of pancake. This has become an almost-daily practice. 
  
  Communication between us is somewhat affected by the fact that she doesn't speak English and all I can say in Chinese is hello. Once, she brought an iPad as well as the food. She pointed to the screen, which displayed a message from her daughter telling me that her mother wanted to know if the food was all right and whether it was too salty. I am not used to iPads, so she indicated I should go with her to her house. Then, she handed the iPad to her husband and almost immediately I found myself looking at Nicole in Shanghai and discussing her mother's cooking and salt intake. Instantly, tears welled in my eyes. 
  
  "Your mother just can't be bringing me meals like this all the time," I insisted. "I can hardly do dishes in return." 
  
  "Oh, no, Lucy." Nicole said. "Mum doesn't like western food. Don't worry about it; she has to cook for the three of them anyway, and she wants to do it." 
  
  The doorbell keeps ringing and there is the familiar brown paper carrier bag, handed smilingly to me. 
  
  I am now working on some more Chinese words--it's the least I can do after such display of kindness. 
  
  "Thank you" is, of course, the first one. Somehow, it seems inadequate.
questions: Who is at the door?
questions: Is she carrying something?
questions: What?
questions: Do I know her?
questions: Who is her daughter?
questions: Where does Nicole live?
questions: How is she related to the boy?
questions: What is in the bag?
questions: Has she done this before?
questions: Why?
questions: What has helped us communicate?
questions: What kind of dishes does she bring?
questions: What do I do to help communicate with her?
questions: Do she continue bringing the bag?
questions: What is the first phrase I learn?
answers: An elderly Chinese lady and a little boy
answers: On the step, I find the elderly Chinese lady, small and slight, holding the hand of a little boy
answers: Yes
answers: she holds a paper carrier bag
answers: a paper carrier bag
answers: a paper carrier bag
answers: Yes
answers: I know this lady
answers: Nicole
answers: Her daughter, Nicole
answers: Shanghai
answers:  But she is now in Shanghai
answers: mother
answers: She is the boy's grandmother, and her daughter bought the house next door last October. 
answers: food
answers: a thermos with hot soup and a stainless-steel container with rice, vegetables and either chicken, meat or shrimp, sometimes with a kind of pancake
answers: Yes
answers: This has become an almost-daily practice. 
answers: I am having heart surgery soon, so her mother has decided I need more nutrients
answers: Nicole has obviously told her mother that I am having heart surgery soon, so her mother has decided I need more nutrients
answers: an iPad
answers: an iPad
answers: hot soup and a container with rice, vegetables and either chicken, meat or shrimp, sometimes with a kind of pancake
answers: hot soup and a stainless-steel container with rice, vegetables and either chicken, meat or shrimp, sometimes with a kind of pancake
answers: I am now working on some more Chinese words
answers: I am now working on some more Chinese words
answers: Yes
answers: The doorbell keeps ringing and there is the familiar brown paper carrier bag, handed smilingly to me. 
answers: "Thank you"
answers: "Thank you"